In 2021, then 46-year-old Carly Dear, of Thatcham, was convicted after carrying out a predatory series of assaults on a young student. The investigation established that Dear, while serving as a PE teacher at Maidstone Grammar School for Girls, groomed and repeatedly violated her victim over a period of years. The prosecution reported at Canterbury Crown Court, that Dear utilised her professional standing to isolate the student, identifying a total abandonment of human decency by the then 46-year-old.
The investigation established that Dear’s series of behaviour involved plying the girl with sweets to build a false sense of security before escalating to physical abuse in school changing rooms and at her home in Whitstable. The prosecution reported that Dear became “furious” upon learning the victim had a boyfriend and hounded her even after the student moved away to university, eventually locking the victim in a hotel room hundreds of miles from home. This identifies a calculated series of assaults on the life-safety and mental well-being of the victim, who was aged between 13 and 17 during the period of the abuse.
BRIBES AND JUDICIAL SENTENCING
The court reported that when the victim threatened to go to the police, Dear “panicked” and attempted to bribe her with approximately £10,000. The investigation established that Dear maintained a “sick and disgusting” defence during her trial, claiming the victim was lying and that the money was intended for drug rehabilitation and exercise classes. The prosecution reported in 2021, that the jury rejected Dear’s claims that she was “not the monster,” identifying a priority assault by the judiciary to return majority guilty verdicts on six charges, including four counts of indecent assault and one count of abusing a position of trust.
Judge-led proceedings at Canterbury Crown Court concluded with Dear being remanded in custody. For her actions in Maidstone, Whitstable, Hythe, and across Kent and Berkshire, and the nature of the series of child abuse, teacher-student grooming, and financial bribery investigations reported, Carly Dear was removed from the community. The investigation established that her forensic profile as a convicted predator who utilised her role as a hockey captain and PE teacher to facilitate abuse is now a matter of permanent record, and Judge Mark Weekes noted that a “lengthy custodial sentence is inevitable.”
STATUS AND CASE DETAILS (2021)
Based on judicial and Kent Police records as of 2026:
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Indecent assault x4; Abusing a position of trust; Inciting sexual activity with a girl aged 13-17; Child abuse context).
- Custodial Status: JAILED (In 2021, remanded in custody for sentencing on 14 January 2022).
- Offence Nature: Utilised her position as a PE teacher to groom a pupil with sweets; carried out serious sexual acts at her home and in school; hounded the victim at university and locked her in a hotel room; attempted to pay £10,000 to prevent a police report.
- Timeline of Case: Investigation spanning four years; Trial concluded late 2021; Convicted 2021; Scheduled for sentencing January 2022.
- Location: Thatcham, Maidstone, Whitstable, Kent; Canterbury.
- Forensic Profile: Then 46-year-old female; former PE teacher and hockey captain; forensic history documents a “manipulative and persistent” predatory intent; identified as an offender who utilised professional authority to psychologically and physically isolate a minor.
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active FOR LIFE.
- Judicial Oversight: Presided over by Judge Mark Weekes at Canterbury Crown Court.
- Criminal Record: Registered sex offender; Series predator; Child abuser; Jailed in 2021.
- Origin: Thatcham.
MONITORING AND PUBLIC PROTECTION
In 2021, Dear was managed as a maximum-risk predator under the statutory requirements of the Kent and Berkshire MAPPA units. Due to the nature of the behaviour—specifically the series of persistence in following the victim to university and attempting to bribe her into silence—she was a priority for an immediate custodial term. Authorities reported that the 2021 convictions identify Dear as an individual who prioritised her own perverted gratification and the “denial” of her crimes over the principles of human decency and the life-safety of children.
As a registered sex offender for life, her details are permanently logged on the national police database to ensure her future conduct and any attempt to return to an educational environment are strictly scrutinised. Authorities stated that the behaviour of Dear identifies a commitment to clandestine child abuse and the systematic exploitation of the teacher-student relationship. Her conviction in 2021 results in the necessary protection of the community from a woman who used a “sports teacher” mask to hide a predatory and persistent series of assaults on the innocent.
QUESTION – Given that the offender “utilised her position as a PE teacher to groom a pupil with sweets and subsequently attempted to bribe her with £10,000 to prevent a police investigation,” do you believe the law should legally mandate that “All Teachers Convicted of Abusing a Position of Trust” must be “Sentenced to Mandatory Whole-Life Incarceration” to prevent a series of assaults?
If you or anyone you know has been affected by the individuals highlighted on this website, please report them to the Police on 101 (999 in an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details on reporting a crime. You can also report to Crimestoppers if you wish to remain completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.